Team:Aix-Marseille/Interviews
Reaching out to experts was the key factor in shaping the breaking bugs project. By interviewing them, we had critical evaluations and feedbacks around our work. Furthermore, they pointed out the challenges we might face. We reached out to experts from multiple fields: finance, entomology, entrepreneurship...
Jean-Michel BERENGER
Mr. Jean-Michel BERENGER is one of the leading entomologists in France working on bed bugs. He was a true mentor throughout our whole project. We met with him at the IHU-MI (University Hospital Institute-Mediterranean Infection) in Marseille. He was one of the first person we met for human practices and gave us pointers about bed bugs: the different species, the infestation rates evolution in France and around the world, how to run tests on them, and the current challenges. Here you can find the entire interview he gave us: here
Later on, we went to him to verify the relevance of our trap and get the proof of concept. Furthermore, he helped us with the trap design in order to find the safest application for future consumers. Mr. BERENGER gave us precious advices to develop our project.
Jean-Louis MONCLERC
Mr. Jean-Louis MONCLERC is an independent consultant and associate professor at Aix-Marseille University. We went to him to learn methods to captivate the sponsors and get them to support our project. Firstly, we presented the iGEM organization and its goals. Then, we talked about our project so he can help us engage the right sponsors. Furthermore, he gave pointers to the team members in charge of funding so they can enhance their productivity and get better results. His expertise and mentorship helped put the members on the right track towards getting the team's budget. Moreover, due to his relevant advices we decided to change our iGEM management vision. Indeed to lead in the best way Breaking Bugs project and allow us to keep on the project after iGEM.
Olivier GREMAUD
Mr. Olivier GREMAUD is the founder of Cynoscan. The company trains dogs so they can quickly detect bed bugs. We reached out to them by email with a series of questions and concerns to help us shape the breaking bugs project. They were very encouraging and brought a collaboration opportunity to the light. The plan is as follows: prior to applying the trap in infested premises, they can intervene with their trained dogs to spot the areas where we can apply the trap. Along these lines, we are targetting the infestation, narrowing down the range of application, and increasing the trap's efficiency. You can find the entire interview here.